A woman has been jailed for 33 months for robbing an 88-year-old pensioner at a Tesco cash machine in Newport. Mandy Hammond, 54, of Hoskins Street, Newport, had been begging outside the Tesco Express on Caerleon Road when she targeted the victim, who was enjoying a day out with her granddaughter.
Robbery at cash machine
The court heard the incident took place on May 10 this year. The victim had stopped to use the cash machine when Hammond approached and tried to snatch the newly withdrawn money. When the pensioner refused to let go, Hammond used her bodyweight to push her to the floor before taking the cash and making off.
The victim sustained injuries to her hands and suffered cuts and grazes. In a statement read to the court, she described the state of shock she was in after the robbery, how she had lost her confidence in going out, and how her hand injuries meant she was no longer able to teach painting.
Sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court
Hammond had previously pleaded guilty to robbery. She has four previous convictions for 11 offences and, at the time of the robbery, was subject to a suspended sentence for conveying a prohibited item into prison.
Darren Bishop, for Hammond, said it was accepted his client's behaviour had been "deplorable" and outlined her mental health difficulties, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Judge Lucy Crowther told the defendant she had offended against someone old enough to be her mother. The judge said the robbery had a "very serious effect" on the victim, adding: "You took from her not only her money, but her self-confidence being out in public."
Sentence details
The judge said she had read psychiatric and pre-sentence reports and noted Hammond showed "a remarkable lack of concern" for what she did and for the impact it has had. With a one-third discount for her guilty plea, Hammond was sentenced to 30 months in prison. The judge activated three months of the previously imposed suspended sentence to run consecutively, making an overall sentence of 33 months.
Hammond will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
